INTELLIGENCE REPORT: THREE-QUARTERS OF AMERICAN ADULTS "WILL BE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE BY 2015"

Weight problems will afflict more than 75% of the entire U.S. adult population in less than ten years if current trends continue, according to a new study.

And nearly 25% of American children and adolescents will also be either overweight or obese by 2015, increasing their risk of developing premature heart disease and Diabetes.

A team of researchers based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore looked at national surveys of weight and behavior as well as examining 20 studies in academic journals. Their study predicts that obesity will soon become the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.

Dr Youfa Yang, who led the team, said: "Obesity is a public health crisis. Every group is steadily getting heavier."

The survey defined "overweight" and "obese" using the the Body Mass Index (BMI) which is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilos by their height in metres squared. Those with a BMI of 25 or above are considered "overweight" while those with BMIs of 30 or above are "obese."

Latest figures show that two thirds of adults and 16% of children and adolescents in America are currently overweight.

Black women are especially prone to the condition, with an alarming 80% aged 40 or over classified as overweight and 50% of those women qualifying as obese.

The U.S. is the most overweight country in the world, with soaring levels of obesity attributed to a poor diet of junk food and sugary drinks as well as lack of exercise.

But other countries are catching up fast. In Britain, for example, a study this month suggested that a so-called "fat tax" could save more than 3,000 lives a year among the country's growing ranks of obese people. Researchers showed that obesity levels would fall if people were forced to pay more for fattier foods.

A balanced, nutritious diet combined with regular exercise can help reverse an underlying cause of obesity, namely the imbalance of blood glucose and insulin called Insulin Resistance. By reversing Insulin Resistance, you can facilitate weight loss.

If left unchecked, obesity can also lead to the cluster of increased risks for heart disease called Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X) as well as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) - a leading cause of menstrual irregularity and infertility, acne and other skin conditions, excess facial hair and female hair loss. Overweight female adolescents and adult women do not have a monopoly on PCOS, however. Up to 50% of PCOS sufferers may be females who are of normal weight or even lean.

Overweight men are at greater risk of prostate cancer. Insulin Resistance-linked weight problems are also associated in both sexes with Type 2 Diabetes. Before the onset of this latter condition, however, most people develop reversible Pre-Diabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are elevated beyond normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes. Left unchecked, Pre-Diabetes may lead to the Type 2 variety, which can only be managed for the rest of a person's life. Many Diabetics require daily injections of insulin.

Type 2 Diabetes severely increases the risk of blindness, amputation and kidney disease, as well as a heart attack or stroke. Some 90% of people with Type 2 also suffer from excess weight or obesity.

NEW RESEARCH: VITAMIN DEFICIENCY LINKED TO THE SERIOUS SIDE-EFFECTS OF DIABETES

A vitamin deficiency may be the cause of many of the potentially devastating complications of Diabetes.

Researchers found that Diabetics expelled thiamine – vitamin B1 – from their bodies at 15 times the rate of healthy people. (1) Thiamine helps ward off such Diabetes complications as heart and kidney disease as well as eye problems that can lead to blindness.

It is the first time a deficiency of thiamine – found naturally in meat, yeast and grains – has been identified in Diabetics. The deficiency has been missed in the past because of the way thiamine levels were measured.

Traditionally, the activity of an enzyme called transketolase in red blood cells has been used to indicate thiamine levels. But, for this study, researchers from Warwick University in England measured thiamine levels in blood plasma.

They found concentrations were 76% lower in people with Type 1 Diabetes and 75% lower in people with the Type 2 variety.

Diabetes in its various forms is a major cause of death from heart disease as well as a significant source of blindness, kidney disease and the need for amputation.

Diabetes cannot be reversed and can require insulin to manage it. But before most people become Diabetic, they experience reversible Pre-Diabetes when insulin and glucose levels are elevated but are not at a high enough level for a diagnosis of Diabetes. Left unchecked, however, Pre-Diabetes can lead to full-blown Diabetes.

Thiamine works by helping to protect cells against the effect of high glucose levels. Trials are now being carried out to see if supplementing diet with thiamine could return levels of the vitamin to normal in Diabetics.

Lead researcher Professor Paul Thornalley said: "It is early days. But it could have a huge difference. Supplementing diets could be an effective way of minimising the risk of these complications."

It may sound like an odd question. But the color of your diet can be crucial to your health.

The average American diet is predominently brown and beige because it contains so much junk food – a notoriously addictive source of too much sugar, fat and refined starch.

It's easy to forget what you ate yesterday. But the body always remembers a bad diet, with the ill-effects mounting up day by day, like interest on a loan-shark debt.

A brown and beige diet is especially lacking in nutrients, which can result in ailments ranging from dental problems like gingivitis and inflammation of the gums to fragile bones and the cluster of increased risk factors for heart disease called Metabolic Syndrome. Long-term, however, a bad diet can have an even worse effect.

Not only has it caused weight gain and obesity to reach epidemic proportions in the U.S. at every age. But evidence is growing fast that breast, colon and uterine cancers may be linked with excess weight.

Obesity doesn't necessarily mean being big. It concerns a high fat ratio to your total weight, which means an obese person has more inflammation – a condition that can cause cancer as well as heart disease.

So fruits and vegetables not only help help weight-loss by reducing the number of calories per bite but the phyto-nutrients, or families of chemicals, in them are also anti-inflammatory.

Many people complain their lives are so busy that they don't have the time to plan to eat five or more daily servings of different-colored vegetables and fruits recommended by doctors and nutritionists.

But the servings don't have to be big and the ingredients in a decent-sized salad can often cover most of the daily requirements, plus some fruit at breakfast or later in the day. Vary what you eat and don't just consume the same items like a daily banana, apple or tomato.

Varying the colors is also important because each has a specific role which benefits different parts of the body. Phyto-nutrients from the red group, for example, contain lycopene and there is some evidence that suggests lycopene reduces the risk of prostate and breast cancer.

The yellow/green group, which includes spinach and avocado, benefits the retina or back of the eye, which is like the film in a camera and receives the most ultraviolet light. Yellow/green vegetables help to protect the eye from the most common cause of age-related blindness, namely macular degeneration.

The red/purple group, including raspberries, strawberries, pomegranates and cranberries, have all been shown to improve mental function.

No one expects you to eat only fruit and vegetables because the pangs of hunger would soon drive you up the wall. The key to avoiding feeling hungry on a balanced, nutritional diet is also eat healthy protein, like grilled chicken breast and fish such as salmon and light tuna.

You can even treat yourself to a steak entree from time to time and stay healthy and svelte. Just don't overdo the size of the portion.

One tip: restaurants tend to serve standard portions of steak rather than "made to measure" sizes, so to speak. So the next time you're dining out with a health-conscious companion, get him or her to order a salad while you order a sirloin and then share both dishes with each other.

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Insulite Laboratories is committed to giving you a better understanding of adult Type 1 Diabetes and both Insulin-Dependent and Non-Insulin-Dependent Type 2 Diabetes.

A common underlying cause of all these Diabetic conditions is Insulin Resistance.

So we are very pleased to announce the imminent launch of the Insulite Diabetes Advanced Management System, which has been scientifically-formulated to help reverse Insulin Resistance.

Left unchecked, this latter condition can keep increasing your need for insulin.

It can also raise the risk of you eventually developing Diabetic complications like blindness, kidney disease and the need for amputation.

The Insulite Diabetes Advanced Management System is designed to help you either avoid developing these complications completely or delay the onset of those afflictions for many years while you enjoy better health in the meantime.

Although there is no cure for Diabetes, the Insulite System is designed to increase insulin sensitivity and thus reduce your dependence upon insulin.

As a result, you may experience the best sense of well being that you have known since being first diagnosed as a Diabetic.

The multi-level Insulite System includes a carefully-designed combination of disease specific nutracueticals.

These are primarily designed to increase the number of insulin receptor sites on the surface of each cell.

As a result, cells can absorb blood glucose through the receptor sites more efficiently for conversion to energy.

The consequent increase in insulin sensitivity can have a hugely beneficial impact on a Diabetic's health.